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Republic of India
Some Facts
7th largest country in the world by area (3,287,590 km2)
2nd largest by population (1.1 billion people) capital: New Delhi biggest city: Mumbai (former Bombay) border to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), China, Nepal and Pakistan Languages: English (most important for national, political and commercial communication), Hindi as the national language (30%) and 14 other official languages Religions: Hindu: 81.3%, Muslim: 12%, Christian: 2.3%, Sikh: 1.9% and others: 2.5%
31 Dec. 1600 British East India Company founded by Elizabeth I. 1526 British set up first trading post in Surat. Trade in cotton, silk, indigo, saltpetre, tea and opium. Monopoly over trade in East Indies, EIC had own military 1757 Victory in the Battle of Plassey established EIC as a military and commercial power. 1857 Indian Mutiny is defeated by the British, Mughal Empire is defeated; all political power is transferred from the East India Company to the British Crown
Republic of India
15 Aug. 1947 Independence Day and Partition of India and Pakistan Jawaharlal Nehru becomes first Prime Minister of India, Mohammed Ali Jinnah becomes first Governor-General 1947 Due to sectarian violence over 1 million people were killed when 6 million Muslims moved to Pakistan and 5 million Hindus moved to India. Ghandi opposed partition but had to cooperate to achieve Indian independence. 30 Jan. 1948 Ghandi is assassinated by Hindu fundamentalist 1950 India becomes republic based on British model 1956 War between India and Pakistan
1966 1971
Indira Ghandi: first woman to become PM. 2nd Indo-Pakistani war leads to 2nd partition: East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh 1974 India builds the atomic bomb 1975-1977 The Emergency due to political unrest (highly controversial) 1984 assassination of Indira Ghandi by Sikh bodyguard Since independence, India has suffered from religious violence, caste-related violence and insurgencies in various parts, but has been able to control them through tolerance and constitutional reforms. Terrorism in India is also a major security problem, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, North-east India and recently in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, 2001 Indian Parliament attack being the most prominent one. Despite impressive gains in economic investment and output, India faces pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and ethnic and religious strife.